The University of Georgia (UGA) apparently requires its Resident Assistants to call the police to address violations of UGA’s “Acts of Intolerance” policy, which forbids jokes, posters, or comments that are “motivated by prejudice toward a person or group” because of various protected characteristics. The police come, investigate, and censor students under this policy. Between August 1 and September 27, 2010, eight police reports were filed for “acts of intolerance,” including the words “Dick and Sideboob” written on the dry erase board of a student’s door. The censorship and potential punishment of students for clearly protected speech in such cases is unconstitutional.

Something good for free speech might be happening at the University of Georgia (UGA), and I don’t mean the quiet retirement of the “Party in the UGA” orientation video. At the beginning of this academic year, UGA brought us Scootergate (video), in which a student was brought up on charges after he sent some negative feedback to UGA Parking Services. (After FIRE intervened, UGA dropped the charges.) UGA also literally brought us the speech police—between August 1 and September 27, 2010, eight police reports were filed for “acts of intolerance,” mainly involving constitutionally protected expression, such as the words “Dick and […]

The speech police are out in full force in the dorms at the University of Georgia! On August 21, University of Georgia (UGA) police officer David Rocklein reports: I was dispatched to Boggs Hall in reference to an act of intolerance. I made contact with the complainant … who stated that while making rounds at 1900 hour she noticed that a bulletin board that was supposed to have “WELCOME TO BOGGS 3RD FLOOR” had been changed to “WELCOME TO BOOBS 3RD FLOOR.” One day later, police officer Ty Vickery reports: [A resident assistant] took us up to room [REDACTED] of […]